Holocaust Historiography A Jewish Perspective: Conceptualizations, Terminology, Approaches and Fundamental Issues

by Michman, Dan

• ISBN13: 9780853034360
• ISBN10: 0853034362
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-03-01
• Publisher: Vallentine Mitchell

Summary

While historical research on the Holocaust has been growing constantly, and has in the last few decades almost exploded, the perspective of the targeted group - the Jews - as an active player in the historical arena of the Holocaust, a player with its own historical background, has not been seriously integrated into the larger fabric. In a series of treatises, some of which are based on articles previously published in several languages, this book tries to analyze existing research from these neglected perspectives. The author also examines the ways in which The Holocaust is conceptualized, and how different understandings of the same concept and the use of alternative terms lead to different, and even conflicting, conclusions. Looking at terms such as resistance, collaboration, Fascism, Judenrat, The Surviving Remnant, The Jewish People, etc. - the reader gets a variety of original introductions into the most fundamental issues of this event and the era in which it happened. On the basis of the insights gained from this X-ray approach, the author provides both researchers and laymen with a better understanding of scholarly debates and research directions, while also proposing fresh historical explanations.

Author Biography

Dan Michman is professor of Modern Jewish History and chairman of the Institutes of Holocaust Research and of Research on Diaspora Jewry in Modern Times at Bar-Ilan University, Israel.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(9)
Part I: `The Holocaust'
`The Holocaust' in the Eyes of Historians: The Problem of Conceptualization, Periodization, and Explanation	9	(50)
Appendix: Historians of the 1990s	41	(18)
The Jewish Dimension of the Holocaust: The Context of Modern Jewish History	59	(32)
Part II: The 'Final Solution'
The `Final Solution to the Jewish Question', its Emergence and Implementation: The State of Research and its Implications for other Issues in Holocaust Research	91	(38)
Part III: Fascism and National-Socialism
What Distinguishes Fascism from Nazism?: Dutch Fascism before and during the Holocaust as a Test Case	129	(19)
Italian Fascism and the Jewish Fate in the Holocaust: Additional Remarks on the Difference between Fascism and Nazism	148	(11)
Part IV: Judenrat
Jewish `Headships' under Nazi Rule: The Evolution and Implementation of an Administrative Concept	159	(20)
Part V: Relief, Rescue, Foresight
Elucidation of the Concept of `Rescue during the Holocaust'	179	(26)
Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky: The `Evacuation Plan' and the Problem of Foreseeing the Holocaust	205	(12)
Appendix: Jabotinsky's Cable in the Wake of Kristallnacht	212	(5)
Part VI: Resistance
Jewish Resistance during the Holocaust and its Significance: Theoretical Observations	217	(34)
Part VII: Religious Jewry and the Jewish Religion
Jewish Religious Life under Nazi Domination: Nazi Attitudes and Jewish Problems	251	(19)
Daily Life of the Religious Jew under Holocaust Conditions	270	(15)
`In Faithfulness Thou Hast Afflicted Me' (Psalms 119:75): Remarks on Trends in Religious Faith during the Holocaust	285	(18)
Part VIII: Holocaust and Rebirth
The Causal Relationship between the Holocaust and the Birth of Israel: Historiography between Myth and Reality	303	(32)
Appendix: On the Definition of 'She'erit Hapletah'	329	(6)
Part IX: Holocaust Historiography: History and Problems
Research on the Holocaust: A History of the Discipline from a Bird's-Eye View	335	(22)
One Theme, Multiple Voices: Language and Culture in Holocaust Research	357	(32)
Research on 'Zionism vis-a-vis the Holocaust': Polemics, Problems and Terminology	389	(28)
Index	417